Types of Golf Putters

SHARES

By John Lindell

The strokes that are attributed to putting during the course of a round of golf comprise nearly half of a player's score. This emphasizes the importance of the putter, a club that comes in more shapes and lengths than any other club in your gold bag. Putters on the market vary in composition, shape of the club head, where the shaft of the club is attached to the head and the length of the shaft.

Composition

Putters have heads that are made of such metals and alloys as stainless steel, brass, copper, tungsten, zinc and carbon steel. The golf ball making contact with a putter has a certain feel to it and this changes depending upon the composition of the putter's head.

Lighter putting heads tend to make the novice player use a stronger stroke to propel the ball, sending the putts too far. Meanwhile, the beginner may not hit a heavier putter as hard against the ball, resulting in the putt coming up short

Employing different types of putters, a player needs to gain a feel for how hard to hit a putt before settling on one that feels comfortable.

Shapes

Putters come with the club head in one of two main shapes.

The blade putter has been compared to looking like a smallish version of a hockey stick, as the shaft connects to a thin and flat club head. Blade putters are lighter than mallet head putters, which have a heavier club head that is much larger and possesses a round shape.

The shaft of a putter will connect to the head in the middle or near its "heel," with the shaft typically being stainless steel.

Lengths

The standard putter is between 34 inches and 35 inches in length, from the very top of the shaft to the bottom of the head. While clubs such as these are fine for most golfers, there are other length putters that allow a player to remove much of the wrist action from a putting stroke.

Some players who tend to use their wrists too much, causing putts to go offline, may benefit from using belly and broomstick putters. Those with back problems will benefit as well.

The belly putter, between 38 inches and 43 inches long, is built so that the top of the putter rests snugly against the golfer's abdomen during a putt, lessening the wrist action involved in the stroke.

The broomstick putter is even longer, at almost 50 inches, and is designed for the top of the shaft to be against the golfer's chest or, even, chin. It is held like a broom, with hands in the middle and near the top, producing a swing that resembles a pendulum's motion.

About The Author

John has written thousands of articles for Demand Studios, Associated Content and The Greyhound Review. A Connecticut native, John has written extensively about sports, fishing, and nature.

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